Testa Dura, composed of Strega liqueur, Amaro Braulio, homemade lemon and chamomile sherbet, lemon juice, and ginger beer, is the best cocktail of the 4th edition of the Strega Mixology Prize. The coveted title was won by Neapolitan bartender Ugo Acampora of Twins, cocktail, wine, and coffee in Naples. He will be jetting off to Berlin, where he will be bartending at the Strega Alberti stand at Bar Convent Berlin from October 8th to 10th, 2018. This lively and sunny fourth edition took place in the prestigious setting of the Ninfeo di Villa Giulia in Rome, where the contest among the five official cocktails served at the 72nd edition of the Strega Prize was held. Judging the five finalists were a technical jury—comprised of Alex Frezza, Leonardo Leuci, Samuele Ambrosi, and the administrator of Strega Alberti, Antonio Savarese—and a panel of ten food and drink journalists. The contest was presented by Stefano Nincevich, head of special initiatives at Bar Giornale.
The Testa Dura cocktail, made up of 4,5 cl of Liquore Strega, 1,5 cl of Amaro Braulio, 1,5 cl of homemade lemon and chamomile Sherbet, 1,5 cl of lemon juice and 3 cl of ginger beer. The preparation of the cocktail involves pouring all the ingredients, except the ginger beer, into a Boston shaker. Shake for 10 seconds then pour everything into a mug and fill with ice cubes, to finish the drink with a ginger beer fill and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint and a slice of dehydrated lime. "For the 'Testa Dura' - says Acampora - I started from a concept that is my own, stubbornness, which I translated into the Benevento dialect, in 'cap e mul' or 'donkey's head' or 'hard head'. From here I moved, by mental association, to the classic Moscow Mule drink, to create a simple drink, easily replicable, fresh and served in an attractive mug!”. Born in 1988, Acampora runs the Twins cocktail wine coffee cocktail bar with his brothers in Naples. He began his career in the restaurant world and in 2013 his first training experience, within the FBS in Naples, then in Rome, where he became vice barmanager of the Baccano Restaurant & Cocktail bar.
It might interest you
“This fourth edition is very satisfying,” underlines the management of Strega Alberti, “for the amount of entries and especially for the quality of the cocktails offered and the care that the bartenders have put into enhancing the characteristics of our product.” An absolute novelty of the format, in fact, is the possibility for bartenders to serve their own original cocktails to the over one thousand participants of the Strega Prize. More than 200 recipes arrived from all over Italy, over 10 percent of which came from barladies, with a substantial increase in female participation: the historic company Strega Alberti Benevento requested in the announcement original recipes with free technique with at least 3 cl of Strega Liqueur.
The drink list of the 2018 Strega Prize: Testa Dura by Ugo Acampora of Twins, cocktails, wine, coffee in Naples; Ancora una volta (Strega Liqueur, Tanqueray Ten Gin, lemon juice, Dzenevrà honey mix and mint leaves) by Jonathan Bergamasco of Caffè Imperiale in Vercelli; Ottovolante (Strega Liqueur, homemade Pop Corn Vermouth, Fernet, ginger ale and orange twist) by Gianluca Di Giorgio of Bocum Mixology in Palermo; Cosmo Stregato (Strega Liqueur, Vodka Torrone Mix, lemon juice, berry and elderflower foam with yuzu) by Solomiya Grytsyshyn of Chorus Cafè in Rome and Il compositora stregato (Strega Liqueur, peated whisky, lemon juice, flavoured egg, chamomile and mint syrup water, grated nutmeg) by Edoardo Nervo of Les Rouges in Genoa.
The Witch Liquor
Back in 1860, the factory where Strega liqueur is still produced today was founded in Campania, in Benevento. Strega is a completely natural product obtained from the distillation of about 70 herbs and spices from various parts of the world. With its intense aromatic notes, with its unmistakable scent, this liqueur creates, with the other ingredients, a surprising contrast between spicy and herbaceous elements, full-bodied and light, without losing its refined soul.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to